Germany's World Cup tactics: shaped by dataCheat sheets are out of fashion. Sophie Curtis discovers how the German national team is using data analysis software to gain a competitive edge over its rivals

Back in 2006, when Germany hosted the World Cup, goalkeeper Jens Lehmann had to resort to studying a crumpled, handwritten cheat sheet to glean tips on the habits of Argentina’s penalty-takers just before the quarter-final shootout against the south Americans.Skip forward eight years, and the two teams are set to meet again in the World Cup final, but this time the German players have a much more sophisticated way of obtaining potentially match-winning information about their opponents.Together with software company SAP, the German Football Association (DBF) has developed an application called Match Insights, which analyses vast amounts of data about members of the German team and their opponents, based on their on-field performance.This data can then be converted into simulations and graphs that can be viewed on a tablet or smartphone, enabling trainers, coaches and players to identify and assess key situations in each match. These insights can then be used during pre-match preparations to improve player and team performance.

Player performance is analysed using eight cameras that surround the pitch. The pitch itself is transformed into a grid, and each player is assigned a unique identifier, allowing their movements to be tracked digitally.This data can then be used to measure key performance indicators, such as the number of touches, average possession time, distance travelled, movement speeds and directional changes.For the German national team, one of their key targets ahead of the World Cup was to improve their passing speed. With the help of SAP's Match Insights technology, the team was able to reduce average possession time from 3.4 seconds in 2010 down to 1.1 second in 2014."SAP’s involvement has transformed the football experience for coaches, players, fans, and the media," said Oliver Bierhoff, manager of the German national football team."Imagine this: In just 10 minutes, 10 players with three balls can produce over seven million data points. With SAP, our team can analyse this huge amount of data to caining and prepare for the next match."ustomise trAs well as enabling the German team to analyse its own performance, Match Insights can help coaches and players to identify opponents' strengths and weaknesses, and inform defensive tactics.The software can extract data on individual players, and present it in the form of digital personas, so that it is "as simple to use as their favorite video game", according to Chris Burton, general vice president of global sponsorships at SAP.

“Today each sports team is looking for innovative ways to gain a competitive edge over its rivals,” said Bierhoff.“We are representing one of the most successful teams in the world. The DFB is committed to providing the German national team with the best technology to maximise their performance.”The German national team is currently using SAP Match Insights in an early adoption phase, but ultimately SAP plans to open the app up to other clubs and football federations, and make this type of information accessible to sports journalists and fans.SAP and the DFB are also planning a series of additional projects that will take the app’s capabilities beyond match analysis, linking various disciplines – including psychology and medicine – with match analyses, and integrating all the data in a single solution.This would involve gathering information as a basis for long-term research, such as health data and player training schedules, and running match analyses for individual players.Bierhoff said that this could one day help the German national coach make crucial half-time tactical decisions, such as which players to substitute and when. For tonight's final, however, much will still be left to Bierhoff's intuition. But if Germany win, the latest computers should take at least some of the credit.

The SAP technology is now open source and called Hana, you can download it and host it on the cloud Azure, openstack or AWS, data analysis using bigdata is the next stage in football development. Future coach will now have access to complex data and algorithms to access critical data metrics such as fitness, performance and health etc

I guess it was the SAP statistics that made Palacios and Higuain miss open shots on goal...

_________________We have been brainwashed by the Premier League that it's the best in the world. Nonsense. It's the best brandRoy Keane: ITV 02/25/14

He says that we are currently "brainwashed" into believing that the Premier League is the best competition in the world, and that we are now a long way off dominating the Champions League again.Gary Neville: Mirror: 12/23/14

I guess it was the SAP statistics that made Palacios and Higuain miss open shots on goal...

Is that what you got from the article ? Typical black African always against innovation and knowledge. The scientific approach is designed to to provide the coaching staff with KPI for team selection and understanding of their oppositions. Statistical data on psychological behaviours of player like Palacios and Higuain can help during team selection.

That doesn't mean that the coach shouldn't depend on his gut feeling or experience , but the technology will provide the coach with another and now increasingly important analytic tool.

Last edited by realtrouble on Mon Jul 14, 2014 3:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I guess it was the SAP statistics that made Palacios and Higuain miss open shots on goal...

Is that what you get from the article ? Typical black African always against innovation and knowledge. The scientific approach is designed to to provide the coaching staff with KPI for team selection and understanding of their oppositions. Statistical data on psychological behaviours of player like Palacios and Higuain can help during team selection.

That doesn't mean that the coach shouldn't depend on his gut feeling or experience , but the technology will provide the coach with another and now increasingly important analytical tool.

What I got from the article is the typical and predictable "black African" rush to drool over the latest trinket his oyibo master uses to bamboozle him. So you think it was statistical data that made palacios and higuain to miss?

The point is don't overstate the importance of the "scientific approach" without more. One data point does not prove jack. Argentina had two easy opportunities to seal the game Without the sap statistics.

_________________We have been brainwashed by the Premier League that it's the best in the world. Nonsense. It's the best brandRoy Keane: ITV 02/25/14

He says that we are currently "brainwashed" into believing that the Premier League is the best competition in the world, and that we are now a long way off dominating the Champions League again.Gary Neville: Mirror: 12/23/14

I guess it was the SAP statistics that made Palacios and Higuain miss open shots on goal...

Is that what you get from the article ? Typical black African always against innovation and knowledge. The scientific approach is designed to to provide the coaching staff with KPI for team selection and understanding of their oppositions. Statistical data on psychological behaviours of player like Palacios and Higuain can help during team selection.

That doesn't mean that the coach shouldn't depend on his gut feeling or experience , but the technology will provide the coach with another and now increasingly important analytical tool.

What I got from the article is the typical and predictable "black African" rush to drool over the latest trinket his oyibo master uses to bamboozle him. So you think it was statistical data that made palacios and higuain to miss?

The point is don't overstate the importance of the "scientific approach" without more. One data point does not prove jack. Argentina had two easy opportunities to seal the game Without the sap statistics.

Bro, I don't need the Oyingbo to bamboozle me over advance data analytic, because I have been working within this ecosystems for the past 10 years. If sentimental analysis is used by major retailers to analyse consumer behaviour, why will that be beyond the possibility of using similar scientific approach to analyse a footballer performance.

I guess it was the SAP statistics that made Palacios and Higuain miss open shots on goal...

Is that what you get from the article ? Typical black African always against innovation and knowledge. The scientific approach is designed to to provide the coaching staff with KPI for team selection and understanding of their oppositions. Statistical data on psychological behaviours of player like Palacios and Higuain can help during team selection.

That doesn't mean that the coach shouldn't depend on his gut feeling or experience , but the technology will provide the coach with another and now increasingly important analytical tool.

What I got from the article is the typical and predictable "black African" rush to drool over the latest trinket his oyibo master uses to bamboozle him. So you think it was statistical data that made palacios and higuain to miss?

The point is don't overstate the importance of the "scientific approach" without more. One data point does not prove jack. Argentina had two easy opportunities to seal the game Without the sap statistics.

well maybe if Argentina used the SAP software, they would have known the players who had the opportunities missed due to stage fright scientific approach did not help the Germans to win but at least it provided valuable data on their opponents, key stats and what not, Germany won afterall so they can easily claim SAP helped with strategy, HANA is the next big SAP thing, SAP rules

_________________So angry Nigeria got kicked out of the world cup once again, i nearly told my wife that i caught my girlfriend with another man today!

I guess it was the SAP statistics that made Palacios and Higuain miss open shots on goal...

Is that what you get from the article ? Typical black African always against innovation and knowledge. The scientific approach is designed to to provide the coaching staff with KPI for team selection and understanding of their oppositions. Statistical data on psychological behaviours of player like Palacios and Higuain can help during team selection.

That doesn't mean that the coach shouldn't depend on his gut feeling or experience , but the technology will provide the coach with another and now increasingly important analytical tool.

What I got from the article is the typical and predictable "black African" rush to drool over the latest trinket his oyibo master uses to bamboozle him. So you think it was statistical data that made palacios and higuain to miss? The point is don't overstate the importance of the "scientific approach" without more. One data point does not prove jack. Argentina had two easy opportunities to seal the game Without the sap statistics.

Bro, I don't need the Oyingbo to bamboozle me over advance data analytic, because I have been working within this ecosystems for the past 10 years. If sentimental analysis is used by major retailers to analyse consumer behaviour, why will that be beyond the possibility of using similar scientific approach to analyse a footballer performance.

and i have been working with SAP for 15 years, believe me i know the importance of SAP in providing accurate analysis and what not, if the Germans used this unfair advantage on their opponents, then its because SAP is a German software!!! so go figure out

_________________So angry Nigeria got kicked out of the world cup once again, i nearly told my wife that i caught my girlfriend with another man today!

I guess it was the SAP statistics that made Palacios and Higuain miss open shots on goal...

Is that what you get from the article ? Typical black African always against innovation and knowledge. The scientific approach is designed to to provide the coaching staff with KPI for team selection and understanding of their oppositions. Statistical data on psychological behaviours of player like Palacios and Higuain can help during team selection.

That doesn't mean that the coach shouldn't depend on his gut feeling or experience , but the technology will provide the coach with another and now increasingly important analytical tool.

What I got from the article is the typical and predictable "black African" rush to drool over the latest trinket his oyibo master uses to bamboozle him. So you think it was statistical data that made palacios and higuain to miss? The point is don't overstate the importance of the "scientific approach" without more. One data point does not prove jack. Argentina had two easy opportunities to seal the game Without the sap statistics.

Bro, I don't need the Oyingbo to bamboozle me over advance data analytic, because I have been working within this ecosystems for the past 10 years. If sentimental analysis is used by major retailers to analyse consumer behaviour, why will that be beyond the possibility of using similar scientific approach to analyse a footballer performance.

and i have been working with SAP for 15 years, believe me i know the importance of SAP in providing accurate analysis and what not, if the Germans used this unfair advantage on their opponents, then its because SAP is a German software!!! so go figure out

The man is a savage, instead of using this medium to learn how the technology works, the man instead laughs at innovation and change.

I guess it was the SAP statistics that made Palacios and Higuain miss open shots on goal...

Is that what you get from the article ? Typical black African always against innovation and knowledge. The scientific approach is designed to to provide the coaching staff with KPI for team selection and understanding of their oppositions. Statistical data on psychological behaviours of player like Palacios and Higuain can help during team selection.

That doesn't mean that the coach shouldn't depend on his gut feeling or experience , but the technology will provide the coach with another and now increasingly important analytical tool.

What I got from the article is the typical and predictable "black African" rush to drool over the latest trinket his oyibo master uses to bamboozle him. So you think it was statistical data that made palacios and higuain to miss? The point is don't overstate the importance of the "scientific approach" without more. One data point does not prove jack. Argentina had two easy opportunities to seal the game Without the sap statistics.

Bro, I don't need the Oyingbo to bamboozle me over advance data analytic, because I have been working within this ecosystems for the past 10 years. If sentimental analysis is used by major retailers to analyse consumer behaviour, why will that be beyond the possibility of using similar scientific approach to analyse a footballer performance.

and i have been working with SAP for 15 years, believe me i know the importance of SAP in providing accurate analysis and what not, if the Germans used this unfair advantage on their opponents, then its because SAP is a German software!!! so go figure out

The man is a savage, instead of using this medium to learn how the technology works, the man instead laughs at innovation and change.

he probably does not know that SAP is the number 1 business software used by all the top companies worldwide and including Nigeria, there are thousands of SAP professionals with Nigerian background, did not even know SAP have a medium to provide these football analysis, Germany certainly did not win due to this but keeping tabs on opponents, fitness, players performance, health is always an added bonus

Nigeria does not have to use SAP but they certainly need a method of keeping tabs on its player pool and what not

_________________So angry Nigeria got kicked out of the world cup once again, i nearly told my wife that i caught my girlfriend with another man today!

I guess it was the SAP statistics that made Palacios and Higuain miss open shots on goal...

Is that what you get from the article ? Typical black African always against innovation and knowledge. The scientific approach is designed to to provide the coaching staff with KPI for team selection and understanding of their oppositions. Statistical data on psychological behaviours of player like Palacios and Higuain can help during team selection.

That doesn't mean that the coach shouldn't depend on his gut feeling or experience , but the technology will provide the coach with another and now increasingly important analytical tool.

What I got from the article is the typical and predictable "black African" rush to drool over the latest trinket his oyibo master uses to bamboozle him. So you think it was statistical data that made palacios and higuain to miss? The point is don't overstate the importance of the "scientific approach" without more. One data point does not prove jack. Argentina had two easy opportunities to seal the game Without the sap statistics.

Bro, I don't need the Oyingbo to bamboozle me over advance data analytic, because I have been working within this ecosystems for the past 10 years. If sentimental analysis is used by major retailers to analyse consumer behaviour, why will that be beyond the possibility of using similar scientific approach to analyse a footballer performance.

and i have been working with SAP for 15 years, believe me i know the importance of SAP in providing accurate analysis and what not, if the Germans used this unfair advantage on their opponents, then its because SAP is a German software!!! so go figure out

The man is a savage, instead of using this medium to learn how the technology works, the man instead laughs at innovation and change.

he probably does not know that SAP is the number 1 business software used by all the top companies worldwide and including Nigeria, there are thousands of SAP professionals with Nigerian background, did not even know SAP have a medium to provide these football analysis, Germany certainly did not win due to this but keeping tabs on opponents, fitness, players performance, health is always an [size=200]added bonus[/size]

Nigeria does not have to use SAP but they certainly need a method of keeping tabs on its player pool and what not

Simple and short, a fact that is beyond the ability of the imbe.. above to comprehend

_________________We have been brainwashed by the Premier League that it's the best in the world. Nonsense. It's the best brandRoy Keane: ITV 02/25/14

He says that we are currently "brainwashed" into believing that the Premier League is the best competition in the world, and that we are now a long way off dominating the Champions League again.Gary Neville: Mirror: 12/23/14

I guess it was the SAP statistics that made Palacios and Higuain miss open shots on goal...

Is that what you get from the article ? Typical black African always against innovation and knowledge. The scientific approach is designed to to provide the coaching staff with KPI for team selection and understanding of their oppositions. Statistical data on psychological behaviours of player like Palacios and Higuain can help during team selection.

That doesn't mean that the coach shouldn't depend on his gut feeling or experience , but the technology will provide the coach with another and now increasingly important analytical tool.

What I got from the article is the typical and predictable "black African" rush to drool over the latest trinket his oyibo master uses to bamboozle him. So you think it was statistical data that made palacios and higuain to miss? The point is don't overstate the importance of the "scientific approach" without more. One data point does not prove jack. Argentina had two easy opportunities to seal the game Without the sap statistics.

Bro, I don't need the Oyingbo to bamboozle me over advance data analytic, because I have been working within this ecosystems for the past 10 years. If sentimental analysis is used by major retailers to analyse consumer behaviour, why will that be beyond the possibility of using similar scientific approach to analyse a footballer performance.

and i have been working with SAP for 15 years, believe me i know the importance of SAP in providing accurate analysis and what not, if the Germans used this unfair advantage on their opponents, then its because SAP is a German software!!! so go figure out

The man is a savage, instead of using this medium to learn how the technology works, the man instead laughs at innovation and change.

nah brah.. I'm laughing at the native easily bamboozled by trinkets... Do you really think the Germans are the first teams to use statistics to help them win? Brazil signed up with OptaPro last year after the confeds. I suppose that helped them minimize the shellacking they got to 7 goals. Same with the french national team.. why didn't statistics get them to the finals now?

_________________We have been brainwashed by the Premier League that it's the best in the world. Nonsense. It's the best brandRoy Keane: ITV 02/25/14

He says that we are currently "brainwashed" into believing that the Premier League is the best competition in the world, and that we are now a long way off dominating the Champions League again.Gary Neville: Mirror: 12/23/14

Well Nigeria also has numerous advance universities, but they cannot build road bridges, maintain their roads or provide sustainable health care. Having access to specific technology is not an indication of having the ability to use the technology.

Well Nigeria also has numerous advance universities, but they cannot build road bridges, maintain their roads or provide sustainable health care. Having access to specific technology is not an indication of having the ability to use the technology.

That was below the belt

_________________So angry Nigeria got kicked out of the world cup once again, i nearly told my wife that i caught my girlfriend with another man today!

I guess it was the SAP statistics that made Palacios and Higuain miss open shots on goal...

Is that what you get from the article ? Typical black African always against innovation and knowledge. The scientific approach is designed to to provide the coaching staff with KPI for team selection and understanding of their oppositions. Statistical data on psychological behaviours of player like Palacios and Higuain can help during team selection.

That doesn't mean that the coach shouldn't depend on his gut feeling or experience , but the technology will provide the coach with another and now increasingly important analytical tool.

What I got from the article is the typical and predictable "black African" rush to drool over the latest trinket his oyibo master uses to bamboozle him. So you think it was statistical data that made palacios and higuain to miss? The point is don't overstate the importance of the "scientific approach" without more. One data point does not prove jack. Argentina had two easy opportunities to seal the game Without the sap statistics.

Bro, I don't need the Oyingbo to bamboozle me over advance data analytic, because I have been working within this ecosystems for the past 10 years. If sentimental analysis is used by major retailers to analyse consumer behaviour, why will that be beyond the possibility of using similar scientific approach to analyse a footballer performance.

and i have been working with SAP for 15 years, believe me i know the importance of SAP in providing accurate analysis and what not, if the Germans used this unfair advantage on their opponents, then its because SAP is a German software!!! so go figure out

The man is a savage, instead of using this medium to learn how the technology works, the man instead laughs at innovation and change.

nah brah.. I'm laughing at the native easily bamboozled by trinkets... Do you really think the Germans are the first teams to use statistics to help them win? Brazil signed up with OptaPro last year after the confeds. I suppose that helped them minimize the shellacking they got to 7 goals. Same with the french national team.. why didn't statistics get them to the finals now?

Brazil forgot to take talent to the world cup so even SAP would not have been of any use, French team, what do the French and Brazillians have in common?? they both got dismised by SAP

_________________So angry Nigeria got kicked out of the world cup once again, i nearly told my wife that i caught my girlfriend with another man today!

Well Nigeria also has numerous advance* universities, but they cannot build road bridges, maintain their roads or provide sustainable health care. Having access to specific technology is not an indication of having the ability to use the technology.

Ooookkkk so if it doesn't work, it is obviously user error... Got it.

#bamboozled

* you obviously attended one of those "advance" universities.

The ability to analyze data is helpful, but its importance should not be overstated without further evidence of its success. As people who claim to have over 10 years of scientific background, the concept of extrapolating from a single data point is just beyond asinine.

_________________We have been brainwashed by the Premier League that it's the best in the world. Nonsense. It's the best brandRoy Keane: ITV 02/25/14

He says that we are currently "brainwashed" into believing that the Premier League is the best competition in the world, and that we are now a long way off dominating the Champions League again.Gary Neville: Mirror: 12/23/14

Well Nigeria also has numerous advance* universities, but they cannot build road bridges, maintain their roads or provide sustainable health care. Having access to specific technology is not an indication of having the ability to use the technology.

Ooookkkk so if it doesn't work, it is obviously user error... Got it.

#bamboozled

* you obviously attended one of those "advance" universities.

The ability to analyze data is helpful, but its importance should not be overstated without further evidence of its success. As people who claim to have over 10 years of scientific background, the concept of extrapolating from a single data point is just beyond asinine.

Read my second post, (posted at 12 PM) Analytics should only be used as a complimentary tool. I don't understand why you are contesting my point of view, when you have also recognized the benefit and importance of data analyses.

Quote:

That doesn't mean that the coach shouldn't depend on his gut feeling or experience , but the technology will provide the coach with another and now increasingly important analytic tool.

The heading of the article stated "Germany's World Cup tactics: shaped by data" it didn't say depended on data.

Well Nigeria also has numerous advance* universities, but they cannot build road bridges, maintain their roads or provide sustainable health care. Having access to specific technology is not an indication of having the ability to use the technology.

Ooookkkk so if it doesn't work, it is obviously user error... Got it.

#bamboozled

* you obviously attended one of those "advance" universities.

The ability to analyze data is helpful, but its importance should not be overstated without further evidence of its success. As people who claim to have over 10 years of scientific background, the concept of extrapolating from a single data point is just beyond asinine.

Read my second post, (posted at 12 PM) Analytics should only be used as a complimentary tool. I don't understand why you are contesting my point of view, when you have also recognized the benefit and importance of data analyses.

Quote:

That doesn't mean that the coach shouldn't depend on his gut feeling or experience , but the technology will provide the coach with another and now increasingly important analytic tool.

The heading of the article stated "Germany's World Cup tactics: shaped by data" it didn't say depended on data.

Can you tell me what in my OP led to this daft and racist conclusion from you?

Quote:

Typical black African always against innovation and knowledge

I have maintained from the start that you should not OVERSTATE the importance of data without more of a sample size!!! How hard is that to understand?

_________________We have been brainwashed by the Premier League that it's the best in the world. Nonsense. It's the best brandRoy Keane: ITV 02/25/14

He says that we are currently "brainwashed" into believing that the Premier League is the best competition in the world, and that we are now a long way off dominating the Champions League again.Gary Neville: Mirror: 12/23/14